Statue of Jesus damaged by fire before pope visit to Peru

Published 3:01 pm, Saturday, January 13, 2018

A cyclist stops near the “Christ of the Pacific” statue in Lima, Peru. The replica of the “Christ the Redeemer” statue in Rio de Janeiro burned just days before Pope Francis is to visit.

A cyclist stops near the “Christ of the Pacific” statue in Lima, Peru. The replica of the “Christ the Redeemer” statue in Rio de Janeiro burned just days before Pope Francis is to visit.

Photo: Martin Mejia, Associated Press

Statue of Jesus damaged by fire before pope visit to Peru

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LIMA, Peru — A giant Christ statue in Peru’s capital that was donated by a construction company at the center of Latin America’s largest corruption scandal was damaged Saturday in a fire, days before Pope Francis is to arrive in the South American nation.

Peruvians awoke to find nearly the entire back of the statue, perched on a barren desert bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, charred black.

A representative of Peru’s firefighting corps told RPP Noticias that two dozen firefighters responded to the blaze. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but one working theory is that “Christ of the Pacific” was purposely set aflame.

But police later told state news agency Andina that electrical cables for the statue’s lighting had short-circuited because of humidity.

The 69-foot statue was donated by Brazilian company Odebrecht in 2011, and for many Peruvians it has become a sour reminder of the company’s illegal maneuverings to court and bribe high-ranking officials in exchange for lucrative public works contracts.

In January 2017, vandals covered the statue in messages like “Out of the country Odebrecht.”

Two former Peruvian presidents are accused of accepting money from Odebrecht, and current President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski narrowly escaped impeachment in December over his ties to the company. Opposition lawmakers uncovered documents showing Kuczynski’s private consulting firm received $782,000 from Odebrecht more than a decade ago when he was serving as a government minister.

Kuczynski has denied knowing anything about the payments, saying he recused himself from all consulting business while in the position.

The Christ statue’s burning comes five days before Francis is scheduled to arrive in Peru. The pope hopes to highlight the need to protect the Amazon rain forest during his visit, but Peruvians will be paying close attention to whether he addresses corruption. It’s an issue close to his heart, and he has called graft more insidious than sin and a plague that hurts the poorest the most.

The statue cost about $1 million, Odebrecht said in 2011.

Francis will arrive first in Chile on Monday. Authorities there are on guard after several Roman Catholic churches in the capital, Santiago, were firebombed, with pamphlets left at one scene threatening the pontiff: “The next bombs will be in your cassock.”